1. Field of the Invention
Diseases resulting from tick bites are becoming epidemic. Deer tick bites, in particular, have been implicated in the spread of Lyme disease, and efficient methods of dealing with the bites are disclosed. Prompt removal of the tick and treatment with a bactericide may help prevent subsequent infections.
2. Description of Problem and Prior Art
Ticks are known to carry and transmit several diseases including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease. The prevalence of these tick borne diseases, particularly Lyme disease, has recently reached epidemic proportions in parts of the United States. It has been determined that it takes time after the initial tick bite for the pathogen to transfer from a tick into and through skin. Accordingly, prompt removal of a tick after it is noticed provides a first line of defense against infection.
Removal of a tick without causing it to inject the pathogen turns out to be very difficult. Recommendations of various sources regarding the necessity and removal of ticks are summarized in Appendix “A”. The information emphasizes that during the difficult removal process, the individual should not damage, irritate, agitate, puncture, crush, squeeze or break the tick. If one or more of these unfortunate occurrences should happen, the pathogen in the saliva glands in the forward portion or further back in the body of the tick can be expelled deep into the wound. Doctors state that it is extremely difficult to remove an imbedded tick, particularly a very small deer tick, without causing one or more of the above listed items to occur. This is the case since ticks have a barbed hypostome that anchors the tick in the skin. With just a washing of the general area, it is clearly very difficult to kill the pathogen in the depth of a bite wound in which a tick has also deposited salivary cement on walls of the wound. The pathogen bonds to the tick's saliva protein (known as SALP 15 protein) as a cloaking device As a result, a very large number of people may now have Lyme disease or other tick borne diseases because they only used soap and water or alcohol to wash off the general area of the bite.
An approach is needed that will kill the pathogen deep in the wound and quickly separate the SALP 15 protein and pathogen from the wound and immediate area. In the case of Lyme disease, for example, because the deer tick does not expel the pathogen for many hours after it has embedded and then many times expels on removal, such an approach provides the opportunity to kill pathogens at the wound site before they get into the blood circulatory system.